Return Engagement: Faces to Remember Then & Now [Hardcover]

James Watters (Author), Horst (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 1984

Horst photographs of Hollywood's most glamorous faces.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson N. Potter; 1st edition (December 11, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517555239
• ISBN-13: 978-0517555231
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 10.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,567,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Touching evidence of mortality, May 24, 2000

By 

Keith Nichols (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Return Engagement: Faces to Remember Then & Now (Hardcover)

James Watters, with the noted fashion photographer Horst in tow, interviewed 74 actresses who have graced, and retired from, the silver screen during the 20th century. The resulting book is effective and somewhat depressing. It answers the question "whatever became of...," by repeatedly illustrating that what becomes of even the most radiant damsel is just what's in store for all of us if we live long enough. The author is unfailingly flattering to each of his subjects, who briefly recount their careers in front of the cameras and since retirement. Some have obviously done quite well in later life, while others less well situated express a wistful nostalgia for their past. Of course a good many were in poor health when interviewed, and many have passed away since the book came out in 1984. Accompanying each interview are one or more of the carefully lighted, posed, and retouched photos that were made of the subject in her heyday. These make stark contrast with the large reproductions of the shots taken by Horst during the interviews. Although I assume he set out to flatter his sitters with appropriate lighting and poses, many of the shots appear harshly lighted (especially indoors), and the prints reveal subject movement or other distracting fuzziness. I appreciate that no soft-focus devices were used, but the lighting and printing of the photos could have served many of these ladies better. However, I've photographed enough people to realize that, if given the choice, the subject doesn't always pick the shot you think is most flattering. On the other hand, many of these former stars still look as lissome and fit as we remember them from 40 or 50 years ago. The book is interesting, but I wonder if it came out quite as the author expected or hoped it would.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 74 FABULOUS FACES, July 3, 2011

By 

Tee (LA) - See all my reviews

This is an extraordinary "coffeetable" pictorial that every lover of classic Hollywood actresses simply must own: 74 actresses of the 1920's to 1940's Hollywood were photographed by the legendary photographer Horst in the early 1980's for this collection. Writer James Watters tags along for comments and quotes from these ladies who range from Bette Davis to Olive Cary, Katharine Hepburn to Natalie Moorhead. Many superstars but also a fair number of leading ladies, character actresses, second leads, B players, and most happily, quite a number of women from the silent screen era. The list of personalities is fairly scattershot, there are some surprising omissions (where's Lucille Ball, Greer Garson, Lana Turner, Jennifer Jones, June Allyson, to name a few) as well as some rather startlingly obscure choices. Each actress generally gets two pages, usually one page is the new portrait taken by Horst, plus Watters' writeup and a vintage photo of the star in her younger days.

Some of the biggest names (Stanwyck, Loy, Davis, Hepburn, etc) get 4-6 pages while some lesser lights get only a page or even a half of one. Most of the ladies beam as charmingly as ever for the camera even though nearly all are well into their senior years (Margaret O'Brien is easily the youngest in her late forties). Several of the stars talk frankly about their lives and careers, character player Iris Adrian is hilarious in mentioning she would never date an actor "They are so damn vain it would be like being married to another dame!" On the other hand, silent star Jetta Goudal could have stood a bit of censoring particularly with her rude (and undoubtably jealousy-driven) comment that Janet Gaynor was "a stupid woman" (it's particularly unfortunate the Goudal profile follows the one on Gaynor, a lovely lady soon to pass away from her injuries from the tragic 1982 car crash although she looks quite good in her photo and is very upbeat and charming. (The authors also put those feuding sisters Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine back to back).

Most of the ladies are written about with respect and affection although Watters comments are occasionally blunt, stating Lillian Gish "lies about her age" and writing Joan Fontaine would be a well preserved beauty "even without plastic surgery", both charges seeming unfair considering they are not likely the only ones this could be said of. Watters does find many things however to respect and like about all 74 actresses, and Hurst in his brief foreward writes "every single star was unmistakably professional and fully aware of what the camera can and cannot do." My favorites of the photos are the stars whose warmth and good humor comes through vividly: Claudette Colbert, Carmel Myers, Colleen Moore, Myrna Loy, Jane Russell, Dorothy Lamour, Jane Withers, Janet Gaynor, to name a few. The photo of Bette Davis is the best shot I've ever seen of her in her last decade, the new photos of Lillian Gish and Loretta Young are extraordinarily lovely while Horst's pictures of Joan Fontaine, Claire Trevor, Ginger Rogers, Cyd Charisse, and Lynn Fontanne are equally stunning and memorable.

Of the 74 actresses, sadly only a handful are still with us almost thirty years after this book was published (Fontaine, De Havilland, O'Brien, Shirley Temple, Jane Withers, Anne Jeffreys, Marsha Hunt, Luise Rainer, and perhaps one or two others), indeed a few had passed away before the book was published and some who were scheduled to be photographed died before the sessions could even take place (Dolores Del Rio, Mae West, Madge Evans, etc). The authors also note several of the more reclusive stars declined (Irene Dunne, Marlene Dietrich, Deanna Durbin, Madeleine Carroll). This beautiful and surprisingly poignant book is a wonderful reminder of the the three decades when great women stars and actresses ruled the silver screen like never before and certainly never since.

The complete list of actresses photographed and profiled: Mary Aastor, Blanche Sweet, Sylvia Sidney, Dorothy Lamour, Evelyn Venable, Gale Sondergaard, Annabella, Ina Claire, Louise Brooks, Eleanor Powell, Colleen Moore, Bette Davis, Luise Rainer, Margaret O'Brien, Jane Withers, Shirley Temple, Judith Anderson, Sue Carol, Claire Trevor, Lillian Gish, Eve Arden, Iris Adrian, Janet Gaynor, Jetta Goudal, Evelyn Laye, Barbara Stanwyck, Lynn Fontanne, Jane Russell, Anne Jeffreys, Ann Miller, June Haver, Virginia Mayo, Cyd Charisse, Genevieve Tobin, Vera Hruba Ralston, Leatrice Joy, Mary Martin, Frances Dee, Greta Nissen, Ginger Rogers, Virgina Bruce, Maureen O'Sullivan, Carmel Myers, Virginia Cherrill, Joan Fontaine, Olivia De Havilland, Esther Ralston, Pola Negri, Alexis Smith, Olive Carey, Claudette Colbert, Beulah Bondi, Elsa Lanchester, Eleanor Boardman, Mary Brian, Laura La Plante, Ruby Keeler, Fay Wray, Billie Dove, Vivienne Segal, Dorothy McGuire, Martha Scott, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Heather Angel, Dorothy Revier, Myrna Loy, Anna Lee, Marsha Hunt, Natalie Moorhead, Teresa Wright, Florence Eldridge, Gloria Swanson, Loretta Young.